Polian preaches short memory as Pack prepares for Broncos

Nevada football coach Brian Polian should avoid a few of his assistants this week, namely safeties coach Mike Bradeson, tight ends coach James Spady and offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich.

They all could bring him up to speed when it comes to the Wolf Pack’s boulevard of broken Bronco dreams since 1999, a span of 13 games.

It could very well be a good thing that Polian, who was named Chris Ault’s successor in January, has not been on the sidelines for a Nevada-Boise State game during that time.

Bradeson, a former Boise State player who is in his fourth consecutive year with the Wolf Pack and 10th overall, has been on the Wolf Pack sidelines for the last three (and has been involved in 17 overall, including his playing days). Spady is in his fourth year with Nevada, and Rolovich is in his second. All of the other Nevada assistants were hired by Polian this winter and spring.

“I can’t imagine that it’s a bad thing,” Polian said at his Tuesday news conference, referring to not being a part of the lopsided series. “I mean, I don’t feel the pressure of, you know, boy, you haven’t beaten them in so many years. I wasn’t here. And please don’t misunderstand, I have a ton of respect for that program and who they are and what they are, but I don’t necessarily carry that burden right now. Five years from now, if I’m sitting here and we’re 0-5, I’ll probably carry that burden.”

Images like this one — Boise State fans hoisting Bronco running back Ian Johnson into the air the team's 38-7 victory over Nevada at Mackay Stadium in 2006 — are fairly common in the series over the last 14 years. (RGJ file)

Polian and his band of newcomers bring a clean-slate approach to the rivalry, which hasn’t been much of a rivalry lately. Boise State has won 12 of the last 13, the one exception being the 34-31 overtime win in Reno in 2010, Nevada’s 13-1 season. The average score has been 45.2-21.2.

Polian isn’t going to have the entire team stare at a swinging pocket watch before its 5 p.m. kickoff on the blue turf at Bronco Stadium on Saturday, but the approach is pretty similar.

“One of the things we’ve been talking about this week is, some teams go up there and they’re defeated before they even come out of the locker room because of (the Broncos’) record at home and the blue turf and the rowdy crowd,” Polian said. “I’m not going to belabor the point to the team, but the one thing I have mentioned is, ‘Let’s not be afraid of it, let’s enjoy it. It’s a great college atmosphere.’

“I’d much rather play there than, you know, I was part of some games in the MAC, you go to the Akron (Ohio) Rubber Bowl in late November in front of 3,000 strong and (it’s) 40 degrees and raining sideways. That’s no fun. Playing in front of a full house and a rowdy crowd and a great atmosphere, that’s fun. That’s fun. So, we’ve talked to the team about, let’s just go enjoy the moment.”

Nevada, of course, isn’t the only team against which Boise State has had this stronghold. The Broncos have the nation’s highest overall winning percentage (86.8, 151-23) since 2000, and they have proven to be nearly unbeatable at home — 82-4 since 2000. Again, meaningless, Polian said.

“Our players can’t worry about that stuff,” he said. “I mean, we’ve really just got to be focused on just playing a football game.”

At least one Wolf Pack player is eager to get onto the blue turf. Junior quarterback Cody Fajardo was injured and did not play the last time Nevada visited Boise State.

“Any time you play Boise it can be a big game,” Fajardo said. “But for me I’m excited to play on the blue turf. All my life, (I’ve) been watching games on the blue turf, and you’re, like, that would be cool to play on it. Now here’s my opportunity to play on it.”

The numbers would indicate that Nevada is one of those teams that is a little intimidated. In five of the last six games, the Broncos have jumped out to early three-score leads or more only to see the Wolf Pack make a game of it late.

“We’ve struggled on opening drives, going on down and scoring,” Fajardo said. “… If we can go out, opening drive, and score some points early, that’ll be tremendous for us and our defense to give us confidence.”

Polian might want to pack that pocket watch after all.

THE DIRTY BAKER’S DOZEN

Only once in the last 13 meetings has Nevada beaten Boise State (* indicates home team):

About this blog

Longtime RGJ Media reporter Dan Hinxman is the authority on Wolf Pack athletics, bringing you the day-to-day coverage of Nevada’s sports teams. Dan has covered almost everything the Northern Nevada sports scene has to offer and will use his knowledge to bring you authoritative and engaging Wolf Pack content. Follow him on Twitter at @DanHinxmanRGJ.